On Sunday December 22 the 3-11 Cleveland Browns traveled to Cincinnati Ohio to play the 6-8 Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium. The Browns last game was a 21-7 loss at home to the 14-1 Kansas City Chiefs. The Bengals previous game was a 37-27 win at the 3-12 Tennessee Titans. The Bengals were playing to keep their playoff hopes alive. While it seemed like the Browns played for a higher draft pick.

Prior to the game it was reported again that Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam is not firing either GM Andrew Berry or head coach Kevin Stefanski. Despite that assurance the Cleveland Browns committed three turnovers, two of them were on the goal line. More self-inflicting wounds have made the 2024 season a disaster for this organization. Untimely penalties and lapses in concentration would be the downfall for any NFL team. The Cincinnati Bengals have one of the best offenses in the NFL. No team can afford to make mistakes and miss scoring opportunities against them while expecting to win the game. With all that being said, the 24-6 loss the Browns suffered to the Bengals did have some positives.

Cleveland Browns star defensive end Myles Garrett was the youngest player to reach 100 sacks in the NFL during the game. Garrett is about to turn 29 years old on December 29th. Running back Jerome Ford had 92 yards rushing with an 8.4 yards per carry average. Rookie defensive tackle Michael Hall junior had a good game as well. It appears that there are some pieces for the Browns to work with in the offseason.

As I write this article the Cleveland Browns get the 5th overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft. This is with two games left in the season. Next Sunday December 29th at 4 pm EST, the 3-12 Cleveland Browns will host the 7-8 Miami Dolphins at Huntington Bank Field. This will be the final home game for the Cleveland Browns 2024 season. It can be a merciful ending to an otherwise disappointing season. After the next two games this team will pick up the piece’s worth keeping and get back to work on winning.